Fans love Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold, the manic agent on HBO’s hit Entourage. So the actor decided to take on another hard-hitter with no scruples: Don Ready, the hard-driving car salesman in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. Both are serious type-A’s, but Ready eventually reveals his softer, gentler side.

Piven told Parade.com’s Jeanne Wolf which character he thinks is closer to him and why he’s still dogged by the attention he got for leaving Broadway’s Speed the Plow due to mercury poisoning.

The other side of Ari.“For those that love me on Entourage, they’ll see some similarities in Don Ready in The Goods, who is kind of an abrasive, fast-talking car salesman. But the journey Don goes through, Ari Gold would never go through. He’s just a different human being, a great huckster who figures out he isn’t happy with his personal life. So in a way, it was completely cathartic to play a guy who desperately wants to evolve.”

Connecting with the search.“I relate much more to the guy in The Goods, who’s sort of maxed out, putting everything into his job, and wants to settle down and find something more in life. I need more time in my own life to find the right balance, to be honest with you, and I’m trying to do what I can. Balance is something I’ve been seeking and I did take some time off, which I haven’t done in years.”

Getting pumped up to play Ari.“I have to kind of whip myself up into a frenzy to get to his level. He’s always in a state of movement and high energy. But it’s a gift to be able to play that guy. I just am incredibly blessed that I have this role that allows me to keep exploring the dualities of a tragically flawed, type-A wrecking ball.”

No aid from artificial substances.“Espresso is the deepest I’ll go in terms of getting amped up. Back in the day, I did dabble. I’m not running for office, so I can say that.”

The selling of Gold.“I know they have like ‘Ari Gold Entourage hotel suites’ now. I think someone is making a great deal of money out of it, and I’d love to find out who it is. I have no idea. People say like, ‘Wow, you have your own line of jeans. I’m like, ‘I do?’ So you go to the store and there are the Ari Gold jeans. There is a lot of merchandising, but I don’t really have anything to do with it, and I don’t think I’m getting a piece of the action.”

He may never eat sushi again.“I think everyone loves a good fish story, which is why it still hasn’t gone away. All I know is that I was incredibly sick and I had three doctors that said, ‘You have to get out of this show because you’re in serious trouble from too high a level of mercury in your blood.’ I was eating fish twice a day and I haven’t touched any since. I took the advice of the doctors and what came afterwards–all the repercussions–I couldn’t control. You just have to make a decision. You can be really angry at me for having to leave a Broadway show early, or you can go to the movies and laugh at me in Goods.”

And a little beer before the L.A. premiere got the audience in the right mood.“A brew and a view. I like that. You know what, why don’t we have adult beverages in movie theaters everywhere? I know there’s one in Dallas. We went to a screening with all the Dallas Cowboys and you sit there and they bring you beers. They should have more of them–just don’t bring your kids.”

Why success isn’t slowing him down.“My father always said being a star means that you have a choice. And I’ve never had artistic choices until now. So, if that’s what being a star is, then I welcome that. People wonder if success has made me complacent. And I can’t imagine that happening. Success only fuels me because I just want to figure out a way to get better. That’s the whole thing. I can’t imagine thinking, ‘OK, I think I got it now, so maybe I should just relax.'”